


the blush in your cheeks

by Love_Me_Dead



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Getting Together, Sort Of, daisy - Freeform, ladies who cannot communicate their feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24412612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Love_Me_Dead/pseuds/Love_Me_Dead
Summary: Dani gets a lot more than she bargained for when she receives a panicked phone-call from Ainsley Whitly.
Relationships: Dani Powell/Ainsley Whitly
Comments: 14
Kudos: 23





	the blush in your cheeks

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for months just bouncing around in my head and I figured that it was a good time as any to write and post it! The title is from Halsey's "clementine". Enjoy!

Dani packed up her things at the end of the day, long after the sun had gone down. She’d not meant to stay late, but JT had to go and she offered to finish up his paperwork. Tally was getting further along in her pregnancy and Dani knew that it was new to both of them, that this was their first child, and she couldn’t help in any other way than letting JT go home on time.

They hadn’t needed Malcolm’s consulting skills in a week. It was just open and shut cases, thefts that did not require the skills of a profiler. Dani knew he was getting antsy, knew that it was only a matter of time before he forced himself on a case.

Gil had gone home long ago, too. She was fairly certain that he was seeing Jessica Whitly, going on dates with her, and he was glad. She had seen him after Jackie passed away and she had attempted to bring up the topic of dating again, but it was weird - he was her boss, after all. They made a good couple. Unexpected but absolutely loving.

Dani finished up her paperwork and got ready to head back home. Nothing waited for her at home. No pets, no spouse, no significant other. Just a small collection of succulents and a baby spider plant. Just her bed. 

She grabbed her bag and shrugged into her coat, fished out her keys. She was nearly down to the parking garage when her phone buzzed with a call. 

_ Ainsley Whitly _ .

Dani had forgotten that she’d saved Ainsley’s number. They hadn’t really spoken very much, but Ainsley had texted her on a number of occasions to ask where Malcolm was and Dani felt bad asking “who is this???” every single time. She couldn’t even remember the occasion on which she’d given Ainsley her number. 

She held the phone to her ear as she walked to her car. “Detective Powell.”

“Hey, uh, it’s Ainsley,” she said, her voice shaking.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Dani asked. She reached her car and unlocked it, tossed her bag in the backseat.

“Uh, I think someone broke into my apartment,” Ainsley said. “I - I just got home from work and - and my door was wide open and I don’t want to worry Malcolm or Mom.”

Dani nodded. “I’ll be right there,” she said. “Text me your address.”

“Okay.”

Dani slid into the driver’s seat and mounted her phone on the stand attached to her dashboard. She typed in Ainsley’s address and pulled up directions. 

It wasn’t hard to think about  _ why _ someone would like to rob Ainsley Whitly - she came from money and she was successful in her own right and she was a young, single woman. There were a hundred reasons to break in. 

Dani parked outside her apartment complex and Ainsley met her in the lobby. In her pantsuit, she shook like a leaf, her arms folded over her chest. 

“I didn’t know who else to call,” Ainsley said. “I’m sorry.”

Dani shrugged. “It’s fine,” she said. “Been a while since I worked a B&E that didn’t also involve murder.”

Ainsley snorted and her shoulders slumped, relaxed. She walked with Dani to the elevator, up to one of the highest floors. Dani tried to remind herself what Bright’s apartment looked like to compare the two. Of course, Ainsley was a Whitly, it would have to be ostentatious and beautiful. 

The door still hung ajar, but there were no signs of forced entry. Dani stepped in, glanced at the curved couch and the armchairs, at the rose-tinted bedspread, at the far wall that was just windows all the way to the ceiling. New York glittered outside.

“Nice place,” Dani mumbled. “Was anything stolen?”

Ainsley shook her head. “I don’t know. I came home and I saw the door was open and I - I got spooked and I called you.”

“Who else has access to your loft?”

“Mom and Malcolm both have keys,” she said. “But they obsessively lock the door. Malcolm gave me a forty minute lecture on locking my door when I moved in here.”

Dani grinned. “Sounds about right. Let’s see if anything was taken, all right?”

Ainsley nodded. She still wore her work heels. She puttered around the space, to her desk where her notes were hidden, and Dani examined the bathroom. It was impeccably clean, still smelled of bleach.

“When did you clean this?” Dani asked, opening drawers. A box of tampons, variety pack, and hair styling tools. 

“Uh, last week?” Ainsley said from the living room. “I’m sorry if it’s gross.”

Dani shook her head, checked the medicine cabinet above the toilet. “It’s just been cleaned,” she said. 

Ainsley appeared in the doorway. “What?”

Dani nodded, scanned over the shelves in the medicine cabinet. Various pill bottles - vitamins and a box of birth control and antidepressants and anxiolytics. She was a Whitly, after all.

“Oh my God,” Ainsley said, covering her face with her hands. “Luisa was here.”

Dani shut the medicine cabinet. “Nothing’s missing, just clean?”

Ainsley’s ears burned bright red. “God, I am so sorry I dragged you all the way out here,  _ after work _ , to figure out that my mother’s housekeeper came into my house.”

Dani stuffed her hands in her coat and chuckled. “It’s no problem,” she said. “It’s normal to be afraid.”

Ainsley ran a hand through her hair and walked to the kitchen. Dani followed and watched as she pulled her fridge open; the contents were organized impeccably. 

She laughed and sat down on the tile floor, her head in her hands. “I am  _ so sorry _ ,” she said, laughing. “Luisa always organizes the fridge. She must have forgotten to lock up behind her…”

Dani grinned. “It’s fine, I swear,” she said. “It’s a really good outcome, actually.”

“Please let me make it up to you,” Ainsley said. “A - a glass of wine?”

“I don’t drink,” Dani said. “And you do not need to make it up to me.”

“Let me buy you dinner,” Ainsley said. “Tomorrow?”

Dani rolled her eyes, grinning. “Ainsley, I’m serious,” she said. “You don’t owe me anything for doing my job.”

“ _ I’m _ serious. Let me take you to dinner as a thank you.”

She sighed, looked away and thought of all the time she’d spent with Malcolm. And it wasn’t as though they had any burning cases at the moment. She had just lamented the fact that she had nothing to do after work most days. 

“ _ Fine _ ,” Dani said. “But only because you’re threatening me.”

Ainsley fluttered her eyelashes and grinned mischievously. “Threatening?  _ Nooo _ ,” she said. “I’m just very persuasive.”

Dani looked down at the tile floor and cleared her throat. “I should get home. Call your Mother, okay? To confirm that it was Luisa here and not some creep.”

“Yeah, of course,” Ainsley said. “Thank you, Detective Powell.”

She looked back up at her, met her eye and grinned. “Please,” she said. “Call me Dani.”

Ainsley smiled. “Goodnight, Dani.”

“Goodnight.” 

Dani, though tempted, did not stay behind and chat. She should have waited until Ainsley confirmed that Luisa had been in her apartment but she felt that she had to remove herself before she said something embarrassing or fawned over Ainsley’s espresso machine.

She went home and she tried not to think about how one of the Whitly children would most certainly be the death of her.

Dani spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about her dinner with Ainsley. It was right after work - provided both of them made it out of work on time - and Dani worried that she would be smelly or dirty after a long day. She thought about packing a change of clothes in her bag but then she worried that Malcolm would find it and profile her into oblivion.

She worried that she would have to postpone their dinner - and then she worried about that, too. Why was she so worried? It was just Ainsley Whitly and if Dani could handle her brother, she could certainly handle the so-called “well-adjusted” Whitly.

Thankfully, Malcolm wasn’t in the office. There were no new cases for them today, not for Gil’s team anyway, and Dani was thrilled that she might get to leave on time and make it to her date with Ainsley.

No. It wasn’t a date. Just a thank-you dinner and Dani deserved it. She had gone to Ainsley’s apartment, on the other side of the city from her own, to investigate a break-in perpetrated by her mother’s housekeeper in which everything was cleaned and nothing was stolen. That was a kind thing to do, she deserved a meal in gratitude.

As work wrapped up for the day, Dani checked her phone. Ainsley had given Dani a specific restaurant - a nice Asian inspired tapas restaurant that sounded trendy and unfocused-enough on alcohol that she would have a good time. Ainsley had sent her a text, letting her know that she would be on time, hopefully.

Dani took a deep breath and texted her back, saying that she would also hopefully be on time. If traffic wasn’t bad. But they were in New York, after all, made famous for gridlock.

She shrugged into her coat and stopped by the bathroom on her way out, scrunching her hair to make the curls bouncier and biting her lips to make them redder in lieu of lipstick. She’d never appreciated makeup that much, not in the same way that Ainsley seemed to, with her lipstick perfectly applied at all times. Even when she was dealing with the Carousel Killer, her makeup had stayed put. It was probably the television makeup they used, thicker and harder to remove than cement.

Another detective - Jane Dawson - stepped out of the stall and saw Dani preening in the fluorescent lights. As she washed her hands, she caught Dani’s eye and winked. 

“Go get him,” she teased.

Dani flushed and looked down at the sink. “It’s just a friendly dinner,” she mumbled. She didn’t have to explain herself.

Jane laughed. “ _ Sure _ ,” she said. “Your man is lucky. You look hot.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, peeking at her own reflection in the mirror. She had spent more time picking out her shirt this morning and perhaps she had matched her bra and panties, but that meant nothing. Especially when both of her undergarments were black, the most common colour.

“Have a good date,” Jane sang as she exited the bathroom.

Dani took a deep breath. Not a date. She straightened her shirt and walked down to her car and tried not to let her knees shake as she followed the robotic directions to the restaurant.

She parked a block away and checked her phone as she cut the engine. Ainsley texted that she was on her way, just walking from the train station, and she would be there in five minutes. Dani texted back that she was there, she would wait outside for her.

She always felt weird waiting for someone in front of a building, like she was loitering or she should have a reason to be there other than waiting for her companion. She folded her arms and her teeth worried at her bottom lip.

Ainsley approached with her heels clacking against the pavement and she grinned. “Hey!” She said, rushing over and wrapping her arms around her.

Dani was not used to hugs-as-greetings, but reciprocated nonetheless. “Hey, you look nice,” she said and then immediately regretted it. “Did you, uh, have a good day at work?”

“Oh, yeah, it was fine,” she said. “Nothing huge to report, which means you also had a calm day at work?”

The thing was, though, Ainsley did look nice in her maroon sweater and high-waisted trousers that hugged just right around her hips. Her hair was partially curled, had fallen somewhat from the perfect curls she must have sported earlier, but her makeup was flawless and she wore that perfect rosey shade of lipstick.

Dani chuckled. “Yes, work was fine,” she said. She held the door of the restaurant open for Ainsley. 

The far wall of the restaurant was exposed brick over the bank seating with hanging Edison bulbs throughout. It was casual, friendly, and Dani kicked herself for ever imagining that this could be a date. Jane got into her head - that was the real issue.

“Thank you again for saving my life last night,” Ainsley teased.

Dani snorted. “Hardly,” she said. “Your housekeeper left the door unlocked.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you judging me for having a housekeeper?”

“No,” Dani said innocently. “I’m judging you for having a housekeeper who can’t remember to lock the door behind her.”

The server came by and Ainsley ordered sparkling water - the exact same drink Dani always ordered. She looked down at the wooden table, dug her nail into a groove in the wood and tried not to grin.

“You can drink, if you’d like,” Dani said. “Just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean you have to stay sober as well.”

“It’s no fun being the only one drunk,” Ainsley said. “Besides, I like to keep my wits about me.”

The way Ainsley leaned over the table, said it like a secret, wiggled her head in a way that made her hair sway. Dani knew at that point that she would have a difficult time keeping this dinner professional.

They ordered a few different plates to share, though Ainsley turned her nose up at the mention of avocado in the ceviche.

“A millennial who doesn’t like avocado? Groundbreaking,” Dani said. 

Ainsley rolled her eyes. “They taste like wet grass and they have the texture to match,” she said. “Though, I feel like I would enjoy them a lot better if they didn’t have to be imported into New York.”

“You’re full of money,” she said. “Just go to Mexico.”

“I don’t have anyone to go with,” she said, shrugging. “And when I went to South America as a kid, I never thought to try the slimy green sludge.”

Dani laughed. “Green sludge? And how does your brother feel about avocado?”

“Oh, he loved it,” Ainsley said. “But it made him sick.”

“So your brother, who subsists on sparkling water and licorice, enjoys avocado, and his well-adjusted sister does not?”

Ainsley grinned and rested her chin on her hand. “Yes. Stop teasing me. I need to find something to tease you about.”

Dani hummed. “You’ll have to work harder, Whitly.”

“Good thing I’m a really good investigative journalist.”

Both of them laughed. Their food arrived and the conversation turned to mumbled compliments to the dishes in front of them around full mouths. They fought over the last spring roll and finally split it in half. Ainsley snapped up the bill as soon as it hit the table and slid her credit card into the billfold, grinning at Dani.

“Thank you for dinner,” Dani said. “I really appreciate it.”

Ainsley shrugged. “My pleasure,” she said.

Dani fussed with her coat. “Oh, you said you took the train here,” she said. “Do you need a ride home? I drove.”

“God, yes,” Ainsley said. “My feet are killing me after all day in these heels.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Dani said. “I can barely get through an hour.”

The server brought back the billfold and Ainsley’s credit card - she added a tip and her signature. “I thought that those fancy insoles for heels would help,” she said. “But they do nothing.”

Dani stood and shrugged into her coat. Ainsley did the same thing, tying her peacoat at the waist and sweeping her hair out over the collar. 

They exited the restaurant and Dani led Ainsley in the direction of her car. In her heels, she stood a few inches taller than Dani and she was so focused on their minimal height difference that she hardly noticed when Ainsley stumbled over a crack in the cement and nearly lost her footing. Dani caught her.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ainsley said, laughing. “I just - I can barely feel my feet.”

Dani let her breath out and held onto her elbow. “You scared me.”

Ainsley slithered her arm into Dani’s and grinned. “I won’t do it again.”

_ This isn’t fair _ . Ainsley knew she was hot and Dani couldn’t tell if she was just generally this flirty, or if she had the same fluttering in her stomach because of her companion. Either way, they were now walking arm-in-arm towards the parking lot Dani had chosen, much closer than before. So close that Dani could smell the complementary mint on her breath.

Dani unlocked her car and prepared herself for the parting. Such sweet sorrow, or whatever Shakespeare had written. She did not know when she would find another excuse to spend time with Ainsley. 

It was not far to Ainsley’s apartment, unfortunately, and she goaded Dani into coming up for a cup of tea - “caffeine free, I promise!” Though Dani had an early morning tomorrow, she would compromise her sleep for any excuse to spend more time with Ainsley.

As they took the elevator together, still laughing about something that Malcolm had done, Dani thought for a minute that it was strange for her to hang out with a journalist. She hoped that she didn’t spill anything that Ainsley might twist as an “exclusive” on the evening news tomorrow. 

Ainsley stepped out of her stilletos and sighed as her bare feet touched the floor. “That is so much better,” she mumbled, holding her shoes by the heels.

“You’re just going to walk barefoot?” Dani asked, laughing. 

“I don’t have a change of shoes, so,” she said, shrugging. 

Dani shook her head. “Now I know why Gil drinks.”

Ainsley fumbled her keys out of her purse with one hand as they walked off the elevator. Of course she lived on the top floor. She padded down the carpeted hallway in her bare feet and Dani noticed that her toenails were painted hot pink. 

She unlocked the door and tossed her shoes haphazardly towards the shoe rack by the front door before she hung her coat on the hook and disappeared into her apartment. Dani knelt down and untied her boots, cursed herself for not getting the kind with zippers on the side. She hung her coat and followed Ainsley, her socks sliding on the hardwood in the hallway. 

Ainsley filled the kettle with water and Dani took a spot on the other side of her kitchen island, leaning her elbows against the granite countertop instead of taking a seat on one of the stools. Ainsley reached up to her highest cupboard and her sweater rode up, the pale skin of her hips peeking out over her pants.

“I think those are the largest mugs I’ve ever seen,” Dani said. They were a pretty gradient of black to grey to white - perfectly fitting for Ainsley (especially that she had two matching mugs. All of Dani’s mugs were gifts and all of them were mismatched).

Ainsley grinned. “Malcolm threatened to buy me a half gallon mug for my birthday.”

“And you told him to get fucked?”

“Something like that,” Ainsley said, laughing. “I think I told him I’d store it at his apartment.”

Dani grinned, rested her chin on her hand. She watched Ainsley move around the kitchen, grab the sugar jar and two tea bags and two teaspoons. Ainsley noticed her staring and leaned back against her stove, folded her arms over her chest.

“You’re staring, Powell.”

Dani straightened up, pressed her hands against the cold countertop and drummed her fingers on it. “Bad habit.”

“I don’t mind.”

She couldn’t stop thinking about crossing over to the other side of the kitchen island and bracketing Ainsley against the stove and kissing her. But Ainsley was her colleague’s sister, a reporter, a Whitly. There was a long list of reasons she was off-limits.

The kettle hissed as it reached boil and Ainsley turned, poured hot water into both their mugs. The other side of the island was the other side of the world and Dani was never one hundred percent comfortable in a foreign house, a home that was not hers. She had learned that places that were not hers were either crime scenes or bad tinder date’s apartments where they used empty bottles of Jack Daniels as decor.

“How do you like your tea?” Ainsley asked, fishing the tea bag out with the teaspoon.

“Three sugar, no milk,” Dani said. “Though, with a cup that size? Maybe four sugar.”

Ainsley smiled and scooped four teaspoons of sugar into the mug. She fixed her own cup with one teaspoon of sugar and a large dollop of oat milk before she slid Dani’s over the island to her. 

“Let’s go sit on the couch,” she said. “It’s way more comfortable.”

Her couch was a vague U-shape and Ainsley curled up in one of the corners, tucking her feet up beside her. Dani perched on the edge of the couch, clutching her tea between her hands. It was caffeine-free Earl Grey and she wondered if Malcolm had told Ainsley about her favourite kind of tea. She wondered if Ainsley had fished for that information.

“Earl Grey is your favourite, right?” Ainsley said, smirking.

Dani glanced at her. “How’d you know?”

“I asked Malcolm.”

She sipped her tea. It was a touch too sweet and too hot to drink, so she grabbed a coaster and set it down on the coffee table in front of her. The coasters were square and colourful, all different primary colours around the edges, and Dani picked up another one.

“They represent radioactive elements,” Ainsley said. “Malcolm got them for me.”

“You’re into chemistry?” Dani asked. The one under her mug glowed red - radium.

“I was,” Ainsley said. She picked out plutonium for herself and set her mug on it before she sat back and tilted her head. Her lipstick had worn off with their meal, but it was still there, a little outline of her lips in pink.

“Past tense,” Dani noted. “What happened?”

Ainsley shrugged. “I chose journalism,” she said. “There’s no sob story.”

Dani nodded and picked up her tea again. It was still too hot to drink. She looked around the apartment - airy and full of space with windows replacing the far wall. It smelled nice, too, like roses and peonies, and her bed sat in the corner with blush coloured sheets. She set her tea down again and glanced over at Ainsley.

“You’re staring, Whitly,” Dani said quietly.

Ainsley smiled. “Kind of a bad habit,” she echoed. 

“I don’t mind.”

They were one couch cushion apart and Ainsley reached over, plucked Dani’s hand out of her lap. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to take one of the throw pillows and hold it on her lap, cradle it like a stuffed animal in an attempt to hide.

Ainsley’s hand was warm and soft, her nails perfectly manicured. A thousand conversation topics burst into Dani’s head - distraction tactics; if she was talking, she couldn’t be kissed. But she wanted this. She wanted Ainsley to get closer. 

Dani searched her eyes for any hint of recoiling and she could see Ainsley doing the same thing. Ainsly leaned closer and Dani could not resist the hint of pink on her lips any longer - she closed the gap between them. Soft and tentative until both of them pulled away and Ainsley giggled.

“What?” Dani asked, bringing her hand up to her face and touching her bottom lip. Did she have something in her teeth? Had it been so long since she kissed a girl that she was complete shit at it?

“I’ve been waiting a long time to do that,” Ainsley said, giggling.

Dani let her breath out in a chuckle. “You had a crush on me?”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Ainsley said. “You’re a badass detective.”

Her cheeks flushed and Ainsley cupped her jaw, bringing her in for another kiss. Less tentative - they both knew what they were working with this time and they both knew that their mouths tasted of gochujang and chanterelle mushrooms. 

Carefully, Dani laid her hand on Ainsley’s waist, the soft fabric of her sweater bunching up between her fingers. Her other hand was wrapped up in Ainsley’s other hand, fingers interlaced, while Ainsley’s hand cupped the back of her head, buried in her hair. She didn’t worry about Ainsley’s fingers causing a tangle or disrupting her curls - she was having too much fun kissing her.

Ainsley readjusted, sat up straighter so they were chest-to-chest, and Dani’s hand slipped under the fabric and met the warm skin underneath. She could feel the bottom band of Ainsley’s bra, the divot it caused in her skin, the gentle bumps of her ribs. 

Dani brushed her thumb over the fabric of her bra, testing the waters to see if she could move her hand further up as their mouths moved together. She felt like she was in high school all over again, making out with the girl who played Juliet in the hallway by the dressing rooms. Ainsley’s hand leapt up to hers and guided it to her bra.

Dani pressed closer, wrapped her free hand around Ainsley’s waist as she ran her fingers over the lacey fabric. Ainsley pulled away and peeled her sweater off, revealing her peach bra underneath; it had lace overlay and white straps and she hardly had time to run her hands over it before Ainsley’s fingers began working at her blouse.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to Ainsley’s neck, feeling her heartbeat under her lips and smelling her perfume: rose and bergamot and peach. Ainsley’s hands stopped on Dani’s shoulders and she peered up at her, smiling.

“Is it okay if we just make out?” Ainsley asked.

“Of course,” Dani said. “No sex on the first date?”

Ainsley laughed. “I’m a prude, I know,” she said, wrapping her arm lazily around Dani’s neck and over her shoulders.

Dani brushed her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You’re not a prude,” she whispered.

“You can stay the night, though,” Ainsley offered. “If you’d like.”

Dani laughed and wrapped her arms around her waist, snuggling into her warmth. The heat in her lower belly slowly dissipated. She looked out the window to the panoramic view of New York.

“Did you set up the break and enter just to ask me out?” Dani asked.

Ainsley laughed and slid her fingers into Dani’s hair. “I did not set up Luisa leaving my door open,” she said. “But I certainly called  _ you _ on purpose.”

Dani grinned. “Just had to get creative to ask me out?”

“Had to,” Ainsley shrugged. She pressed a kiss to Dani’s nose.

Dani sat up, out of Ainsley’s embrace, and picked up her tea. A sip told her that it had gone slightly too cold while they were too busy making out. “Tea went cold,” she mumbled. 

Ainsley picked up her own mug and took a long drink. “We’ll just have to have another cup, then,” she said, smiling.

Dani sipped her tea and crossed her legs under herself. Ainsley grabbed a throw off the back of the couch and wrapped it around their shoulders, leaning her head on Dani’s shoulder. 

“Do you mind if I change out of these pants?” Ainsley asked. 

“Go ahead,” Dani said.

Ainsley stood and padded over to her closet. She fished out a pair of cotton pajama pants with a print of different kinds of sushi and traded her trousers for them. Dani tried not to stare at her and instead focused on her tea.

“I should probably go home soon,” Dani said, checking the time. 

“You can stay, if you want.”

“There’s a good chance I’ll see your brother tomorrow,” Dani said. Malcolm would notice if it was the second time she had worn an outfit in as many days and he would recognize Ainsley’s clothes if Dani borrowed anything.

Ainsley laughed. “Let’s wait a little while to tell my family,” she said, sitting down next to Dani again. “Just until we figure out what this is.”

“I like this, though,” Dani said. She would not admit here and now that she had been hoping for this, that she had condemned herself to suffering through an unrequited crush and watching her on the news every night.

“Me, too,” Ainsley said. “We should do this again.”

Dani kissed her again, tasting of Earl Grey tea this time. She did not want to leave but she did not want to suffer Malcolm’s profiling eye and lead to an awkward conversation at the Whitly dinner table. 

Instead, she pulled away, buttoned her shirt back up and said goodnight.

As she’d predicted, Malcolm was called in the very next day, as jittery and manic as ever when they had a new murder case. Dani was incredibly thankful that she’d gone home and showered away the traces of Ainsley - the lipstick smudges on her face and the floral scent that clung onto her clothes. 

It wasn’t a secret, per se, but neither of them wanted to share what they had until they were certain about it. It took a few more dates, a few nights spent together in each other’s beds, until they were sure. Dani called her mother and Ainsley planned on telling her family at dinner that Sunday. 

They had a date that Friday that ended at Ainsley’s apartment with cups of tea and radioactive element coasters. Ainsley admitted that she’d been scared to go into chemistry as a career because she felt like it would make her too much like her father. 

Dani spent the night at Ainsley’s, woken far too early by the sun streaming in her giant windows, and she curled herself closer to Ainsley, still clinging on to the last dregs of sleep. She had a whole day ahead of her where she could just spend time with Ainsley rather than meet up after work for sushi.

She glanced at the clock, pushing her curls out of her face, and found that it was eight in the morning. An appropriate time to be awake, but she’d spent most of the evening with Ainsley, with her head buried between her legs until the middle of the night. She could still feel the spots on her thighs where Ainsley had squeezed and she could feel the spots on her hips where her nails had dug in and she could feel the places Ainsley had pulled on her hair.

Ainsley shifted, sleep-warmed, and pulled Dani closer. They were both naked under her covers and Dani laid her head against Ainsley’s collarbone, peppering kisses there.

“Good morning,” Ainsley mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

Dani squinted as she glanced outside, past the translucent curtains that did very little to stop the early-morning sunlight. “How do you sleep here?”

“I don’t,” Ainsley said, chuckling. 

Dani pressed a kiss to her chest. She knew that Ainsley had nightmares, too - they just weren’t as violent as her brother’s. They did not require chains or fists, but gentle touches and lowered expectations for the amount of sleep she would get that night.

Ainsley ran a hand through Dani’s hair. She knew that her hair was wild and tangled and she would have to go home to wash it because Ainsley’s hair care would never work for her. But for now, Ainsley could run her hands through it all she liked.

There was a knock on the door and Dani sighed, pulling Ainsley closer, silently begging her not to get up. “It’s probably just my neighbour,” Ainsley murmured, pulling away and throwing on a tank top and shorts. 

Dani sat up and grabbed Ainsley’s robe, wrapped it around her body and stretched. Ainsley pulled a hoodie over her head before she went down the hall to the door and Dani picked up all the pieces of her clothes. She heard the door open and she heard Ainsley’s greeting interrupted - by Malcolm.

She froze. In the middle of Ainsley’s apartment, in her robe, with her hair wild and maybe a love bite on her thigh, it was obvious what they’d been up to. And Malcolm wasn’t supposed to find out like this.

“Hey, Ains, you want to get breakfast?” 

Dani shut her eyes. There was nowhere to hide - Malcolm would see her duck into the bathroom from the door and it would be ridiculous to fold herself into the linen cupboard. 

“Uh, now isn’t such a great time,” Ainsley said. 

Too late. Malcolm strode down the hallway and Ainsley shut the door behind him. 

Dani folded her arms over her chest and bit her lip. Malcolm stopped at the dividing line between the hallway and the living room, gaping at Dani.

“Detective Powell?” He stammered.

“Hey,” Dani mumbled. She couldn’t bear to meet his eyes yet.

“What… Ainsley, what is she doing here? Are you okay?”

Ainsley sighed. “Malcolm…” she mumbled, rubbing her forehead. “We’re dating. She’s my girlfriend.”

Malcolm’s eyes widened and Dani couldn’t help but grin. It was the first time she’d been introduced as Ainsley’s girlfriend - she loved it. 

“You… you’re dating my coworker?” Malcolm asked. He cleared his throat and tried to school his expression into something less shocked. “Uh. That’s great, Ains. And - and you, too, Dani.”

Dani stared down at her feet to hide her smile. 

“I was going to tell you and Mom tomorrow at dinner,” Ainsley said. 

Malcolm chuckled. “I never thought this would happen,” he said. 

“Well, you knew I was a lesbian, so…” Ainsley mumbled.

Dani snorted and tugged at the hem of Ainsley’s robe. She still felt exposed and she was acutely aware of the fact that she was not wearing underwear. 

“Mother will be pissed,” Malcolm said. “I’m pretty sure she wanted me and Dani to date.”

“Too late,” Dani said. 

Malcolm chuckled. “I’ll stop intruding,” he said, backing away towards the door. “And I’ll see you tomorrow, Ains.”

“I’ll see you at work,” Dani said, grinning.

Malcolm tipped his finger towards her and fled. She laughed as soon as the door closed behind him, buried her face in her hands. Ainsley padded over to her and wrapped her arms around her.

“Sorry about my intrusive asshole brother,” she mumbled.

“Don’t worry, I already knew about that,” Dani said, kissing Ainsley’s forehead.

Ainsley smiled. “At least you chose the well-adjusted Whitly.”

“And I love her.”

Her smile brightened. “I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a comment, kudos, or come chat on [my tumblr](https://bibright.tumblr.com)!


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